There are state birds, bugs, fish, flowers, and dogs—but North Carolina has a state carnivorous plant. The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is exceptional enough to deserve its own state symbol designation, and due to their rarity, it’s a felony to poach them.
While flytraps are cultivated throughout the world, they are native to only a small area of the coastal plain in North and South Carolina.
People even make special pilgrimages to North Carolina to see the flytraps. When they arrive, folks soon discover a wealth of special plants, colloquially dubbed meat-eaters, which rely on insects for nutrition.
There are 66 species of carnivorous plants in the United States, and an astounding 36 of them live in North Carolina. Acidic soils, low nutrients, and a high water table provide excellent habitat for carnivorous plants to thrive.
These conditions exist in select patches across the state, ranging from longleaf pine savannas in the coastal plain to mountain bogs in the Southern Blue Ridge.